The way things are going, the University of Utah may have a hard time fielding a men's basketball team this winter.
After losing five underclassmen since the end of last season, the Utes have lost another player, this time to injury.
Misha Radojevic, a 6-10, 250-pound junior post player from Belgrade, Serbia, will miss the entire 2005-06 season after tearing the ACL in his right knee while working out with teammates on Wednesday.
"It's one of those things you can't control in athletics," said Utah coach Ray Giacoletti. "He was certainly a guy we were counting on to help because of his experience. He's a big, strong player."
Last month, Ute forward Richard Chaney announced he was transferring out of the program before his senior season. He enrolled at Troy University in Alabama earlier this week after first announcing he was going to transfer to Indiana.
Last spring, three players, Justin Hawkins, Jermaine Calvin and Jake Schmidt, all transferred, and center Andrew Bogut left for the NBA, where he became the No. 1 draft pick.
Giacoletti said the Utes were planning on Radojevic playing the power forward and center positions. Now the Utes have just two inside players in freshman Luke Nevill and senior Chris Jackson. Six-foot-10 Jonas Langvad is more of a perimeter player, Giacoletti said.
Before transferring to Utah, Radojevic attended Belgrade Polytechnic Academy for two years over a three-year period and had two years of eligibility remaining. The University of Utah will go through the appeals process with the NCAA to get back the year of eligibility Radojevic will lose this season. Radojevic averaged 12 points and nine rebounds per game while playing in a Serbian amateur league in 2004-05.
Radojevic was considered a possible starter on the frontline where the Utes lost Bogut and Hawkins.
"I feel bad for Misha," Giacoletti said. "He's been working hard."
The Utes are down to just nine scholarship players for the upcoming season.
Starters Tim Drisdom and Bryant Markson return and newcomer Johnnie Bryant is expected to grab one of the starting guard spots. Other newcomers include Lawrence Borha, Ricky Johns and Shaun Green.
Another big player could commit to the Utes in the next couple of weeks, but he won't be able to play until the 2005-06 season.
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